Maurice Michael Otunga

Maurice Michael Otunga (January 1923 – 6 September 2003) was a Kenyan Catholic prelate and cardinal. He served as the Archbishop of Nairobi from 1971 until his resignation in 1997.^[1][2] Pope Paul VI elevated him into the cardinalate in 1973 as the Cardinal-Priest of San Gregorio Barbarigo alle Tre Fontane in Rome.

The son of a tribal chief in Kenya, Otunga refused to succeed his father in the traditional position in order to pursue a path to the Catholic

He later was transferred to Nairobi, from where he participated in the Second Vatican Council.^[1][2][3]

Otunga was known for his strong opposition to the use of

Based on his strong service to the Church, his cause of canonization has commenced. He has been titled as a Servant of God.^[1]

Life

Childhood and conversion

Maurice Michael Otunga was born in 1923 to Wasike Lusweti Sudi (a chieftain of the Bukusu) tribe) and Rosa Namisi. His father followed traditional African religion.^[1]

His father had about 70 wives and children with woman. He taught Otunga the basic tenets of their traditional religion.

Otunga studied at Mill High School in Kibabii from 1931 to 1933, and later at another school in Sijei from 1933 to 1934. He finished his studies at Mang'u High School in Kabaa from 1934 to 1935. He obtained a licentiate in his theological studies in September 1951.^[1]

Otunga began ecclesial studies in Kakamega. He completed his philosophical and theological studies at the Gaba ecclesial school in Kampala, Uganda. He refused to become his tribe's chieftain after his father resigned from the position in 1947.^[2]

Otunga transferred to

Upon his return to Kenya, Otunga was assigned to serve (1951-1954) as a professor in the theological department at the ecclesial school in Kisumu. He also served as the vice-chancellor of the diocesan curia. He was the private aide to James Robert Knox from 1954 until his appointment to the episcopate in 1956. In 1956 Otunga was assigned to serve as a pastor at the Makupa parish in Nairobi.^[2]

Episcopate

Pope John XXIII later transferred Otunga to the new Diocese of Kisii.^[5] Otunga attended the four sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). In 1969 he was promoted to the Titular Archbishop of Bomarza.

Later that year, on 15 November 1969, Pope Paul VI nominated him as the Coadjutor Bishop of Nairobi. He would succeed the current archbishop as its head upon his resignation. He succeeded as the Archbishop of Nairobi on 24 October 1971.

He was president of the Bishop's Conference of Kenya.

Cardinalate

On 5 March 1973 he was created and proclaimed a

"Peoples on the move cannot be ignored. The displaced persons in Kenya are those citizens rendered homeless on account of tribal violence. Urbanization is another major cause. The victims of discrimination, I think, are particularly those citizens who have to move from place to place in search of employment and this may be due to nepotism, religious discrimination or corruption in the administration of the country. For these people it is difficult to establish stable contacts. For those who already believe, many are in great danger of losing their faith. It becomes more difficult when the situation is politically originated and perpetuated as is the case in Kenya now. Here the bishops have exercised their prophetic role and have spoken out to the government. It is not easy".[6]

Otunga lived in modest conditions and eschewed much of the trappings that came with the episcopal office; he even drove in his own

As is customary for cardinals, he served in various departments in the Roman Curia. Those appointments were:

• Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
• Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes

Resignation and death

In 1991 Otunga fell ill but was not allowed to resign by Pope John Paul II. The pope instead appointed a coadjutor bishop who would have the right of succession in case Otunga either died or became unfit to fill the role.^[3] In 1992 Otunga suffered a stroke and sent a second resignation letter; this was accepted in 1997. After Otunga retired, he moved into an aged care home. After he turned 80, he was no longer able to vote in papal conclaves.

Otunga died on 6 September 2003 at 6:45am of

His funeral was celebrated on 19 September in Nairobi.[3] His remains were interred in Nairobi at Saint Austin's in Msongari, which was a traditional burial ground for priests or deacons.^[2] Otunga was the highest in rank to be interred there.^[1] His remains were later transferred to the Karen's Resurrection Gardens on 24 August 2005. His remains were relocated secretly because members of his Bukusu tribe believed that reinterment would result in a cures of their people.^[7]

Legacy and honors

In late 2016 the government named a street in Nairobi in his honor: "Cardinal Otunga Road".^[8]

Beatification process

In 2005 plans were announced to consider and launch the cause for the late cardinal's beatification. National bishops made their "ad limina apostolorum" visit to Rome in November 2007 and sought advice on the matter from the

The formal petition to the cause was made to Cardinal John Njue on 30 October 2009. Njue wrote on 6 November to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints requesting their approval to initiate the cause.^[3] The latter voiced their assent, declaring nihil obstat (no objections) on 1 March 2010 and titled Otunga as a Servant of God. Njue announced the cause would open on 6 August 2010 but did not set the date for its opening at that point.

The diocesan process opened in Nairobi on 11 November 2011. A team spoke to 171 witnesses in total and compiled 23,995 pages of documentation regarding the cardinal's life and works.

The first postulator for this cause died on 12 August 2012. Since 1 September 2012, the current postulator has been Dr. Waldery Hilgeman.

Views

Condoms

Otunga opposed the use of condoms for any purpose because of their use for

On 31 August 1996 (before 250 faithful), Otunga burned condoms in

"The gospel of family planning and birth control has come into Africa in a big way so that couples who can afford to take care of ten children now prefer adding the latest Mercedes Benz model to their stock of cars to having an additional child!"[13]

Abortion

Otunga was a strong critic of abortion. He said that human life was sacred from the moment of conception until natural death.

Education

Otunga supported President Moi's reforms to end

Amin al-Hinawi (on 14 January 1993) issued a sharp criticism of Otunga's remarks related to expansion of Islam in Africa. The church clarified that the cardinal was misinterpreted, and that he had been speaking out against "Islamic fundamentalism", which he perceived to be on the rise, rather than the Islamic religion per se.

But Otunga was known to have asserted that claiming

Assistant minister Sharif Nassir on 7 January 1987 had asked Otunga to read and understand the Quran, in order to better work for inter-religious dialogue.

References

External links

• Hagiography Circle
• Official site
• Santi e Beati
• Catholic Hierarchy